


Monokuma's Midnight Punishment Game

by NanakiBH



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Embarrassment, Exhaustion, Humiliation, Laughter, M/M, Punishment, Restraints, Teasing, Tickling, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 21:54:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14724269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH
Summary: Monokuma decides to play a game and Hinata gets closer to understanding his feelings for Komaeda.





	Monokuma's Midnight Punishment Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AngelBoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelBoy/gifts).



> Here's a tickle fic for AngelBoy. He wanted Komaeda to be the special contestant in a private game show where the other guys would get to take turns tickling him. That's the basic premise here so you know what you're getting into! Enjoy!

Following the first trial, in a daze, Hinata went to his cabin and laid down, his body feeling heavy and numb. A lot of incomprehensible things had happened over the course of just a couple days.

When he woke up on the beach, it felt like he'd awoken from a long sleep. The first thing he saw was that other boy's unassuming expression... Komaeda Nagito. At first, he seemed like the only person on that island he could trust. He seemed a little strange – perhaps overly friendly – but his kindness was welcomed at such a confusing time.

He should've known better than to trust him. After the first trial, his mind was left reeling. The Komaeda he saw at the trial seemed like a completely different person compared to the gentle and somewhat quirky boy who introduced him to the others and helped him get accustomed to the island. He didn't know what to think. He just didn't know what to think anymore. A bitter feeling was beginning to take a hold of him, squeezing his heart. He'd trusted him, and then Komaeda turned out to be that kind of person...

For 'hope'...?

What did that even mean? It was hard to see hope in their situation. He had to be out of his mind or something. Hinata wanted to know where that cute, unassuming boy had gone. The person he saw at the trial had eyes that flashed with hysteria, and the way he talked just... wasn't normal.

It was hard to deny what happened. It seemed like Komaeda was willing to put them all in danger for the sake of whatever that 'hope' was. Hinata heard the words coming out of Komaeda's mouth, but he couldn't understand how he thought that any of it was a good idea.

Things were tense, and everyone was nervous, but things shouldn't have reached that extent. The 'game' had truly begun... And Hinata couldn't help but partially see it as Komaeda's fault.

After that, he didn't know what to do. The faith he had in Komaeda had been betrayed by those sudden, extreme actions of his. Everyone else felt the same. The other guys seemed like the only people he could trust – more or less. It was hard to trust anyone in such an abnormal situation, but at least the other guys shared his distrust of Komaeda. They seemed to agree that it was worth it to keep him at a distance, at least for a while.

For the time being, Hinata decided that he was going to tentatively work together with the other guys. Soda's reactions at the trial seemed genuine enough. Hinata didn't want to underestimate anyone, but Soda didn't look like the type who would try to kill anyone. He just had a brash attitude. He was straightforward – the simplest person among them, probably.

Until the sun rose, it was going to be pointless to think about anything... They weren't able to do anything at night.

So, he laid in his cabin bed, uncomfortably staring at the ceiling, and tried to sleep. Eventually, without his notice, his eyelids became heavy and slipped shut. And then, gradually, his troubled thoughts drifted to the back of his mind and he was embraced by the blessed dark stillness of sleep.

 

All too soon, however, he was awoken by an unexpected sound.

 

Hinata shot up straight in his bed and turned his attention to the monitor above his bed. An eerily cheerful jingle was playing. It sounded vaguely familiar, like a bastardization of a children's cartoon theme song. The bright screen illuminated his dark room, casting long shadows toward each corner. His eyes burned as he tried to look at the screen, unable to adjust to the sudden brightness. As his eyes focused, he realized that he was looking at the back of someone's chair. They were happily humming along to the tune.

When the chair turned around, his blood ran cold, seeing the cheerful face of the one who had put them in that situation.

Monokuma.

For a heart-stopping moment, he expected Monokuma to inform them that another body had been discovered. Monokuma just took one look at him – no doubt, spying on him with the cameras in his room – and told him not to have such a long face. Apparently, he just suddenly got bored and couldn't fall asleep until someone played a game with him.

Of course, it was a mandatory game. They had to play along with him unless they wanted to find out what happened to 'party poopers'.

They had no choice. After that first trial, all Hinata wanted to do was sleep and sleep forever. He didn't want to play along with Monokuma. But... There was nothing he could do about it. It was utterly hopeless.

He dragged himself out of his bed and followed the others to the lodge where Monokuma told them to meet. On the way out of his cabin, he caught a glimpse of Komaeda and tried to hurry himself away from him as quickly as possible. Once he spotted Soda, he made a beeline for him and practically clung to his side. Komaeda already knew that Soda didn't like him very much, so as long as they were together, Hinata expected that Komaeda wouldn't try to come near him.

For a second, as he was walking away, he could've sworn he saw a look of disappointment cross Komaeda's face. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light. It was dark out, after all, so there was no way of knowing for sure. He couldn't let it get to him.

They met up in the mess hall where their party had taken place... Where the murder had taken place. Everything was already cleaned up. If he hadn't known better, Hinata would've been willing to believe that nothing devastating had happened there. It all happened so fast, his brain was willing to believe that it had all been a dream. The night was still young. There was still time for him to fall asleep and wake up in a new reality where none of those things had happened.

That day was surreal, and it only became more surreal.

Once they were all assembled, cameras descended from the ceiling, pointed in their direction. Each camera was mounted with an automatic weapon, rigged to fire on them if they attempted to tamper with them.

The large monitor at the back of the room turned on and Monokuma hopped into view. He gleefully informed them about the game they were to be playing. It was going to be a punishment game because... Because of course it was. He didn't need a reason. He just thought it would be interesting to watch them squirm a little.

He was there to give them instructions. Unfortunately, that clumsy Monomi must have been asleep or something, because she never showed up. It was just them, trapped together with Monokuma and his sick sense of 'fun'.

The cameras were indeed watching them. In fact, Monokuma informed them that the cameras were broadcasting their actions all over the world, to whatever stations he could hack into. That amount of control seemed impossible, but Hinata couldn't doubt him, considering everything else they'd seen. On the bright side – if it could be called a bright side – it seemed like they weren't going to be in a terrible amount of danger.

He just wanted to humiliate them.

However. There was some incentive for playing along.

He promised that whoever won the whole thing would walk away with immunity in the next class trial. Hinata didn't even want to think about another class trial. If that happened, then that meant someone else would have died... But... He needed that immunity. Though he didn't like the thought of embarrassing himself in front of thousands – perhaps _millions_ – of people, he had to work hard to save himself. Just in case. It was just a precaution.

The games Monokuma ordered them to perform weren't as hard as Hinata expected. Nor were they as humiliating. There seemed to be spots missing from his memory, but he couldn't think of anything that ever made him feel truly embarrassed. His inability to remember his talent made him feel a little ashamed, but that was all. The others didn't get down on him too much for that, so that was alright.

In the first few rounds, Monokuma made them square off against each other as a group. Hinata kept his eyes on the cameras, unnerved by the way they seemed to follow them, making sure to capture every possible humiliating moment. So far, so good, but he feared when it would be his turn in the limelight.

In short order, nearly half of the class had been eliminated, leaving only him and the rest of the remaining guys. That included Komaeda. Hinata had never seen someone who unflappable. Even when one of Monokuma's ideas caught him off guard, Komaeda rolled with it, smiling all the while, able to find hope in the most unexpected ways. Didn't he realize that Monokuma was making fun of them? Or maybe that was his way of beating Monokuma at his own game... If he pretended not to be embarrassed, then it wouldn't have been any fun for Monokuma.

Hinata knew that he couldn't last like that for very long. Eventually, Monokuma was going to come up with an idea that would even terrify Komaeda. Hinata didn't know why, but he felt very invested in that idea. He wanted to know what would make Komaeda lose his composure. If anyone deserved punishment, it was him. They could have already worked together to find an escape if Komaeda hadn't gone and messed things up...

If they couldn't escape from that terrible situation, then Hinata figured that he was allowed to find his own enjoyment in it. A part of him hoped that he and Komaeda would be the last two remaining in Monokuma's silly punishment game. That way, he would have him all to himself.

When it was just him, Komaeda, Kuzuryu, and Soda remaining, Monokuma made the announcement for the next round.

Three against one.

That wasn't fair, but since when had Monokuma been fair?

“Upupu... Hey. You guys,” he said, looking awfully cozy and satisfied on the other side of the screen. “You know what I really love? No need to guess! I'll tell you! I loooove a good laugh. Positively adore it! That's why this round is going to be... all about... TICKLING!”

Soda turned to Hinata, his face looking somewhat pale. “Yo, Hinata, did I just hear him right?”

“Y-Yeah, I think so. He said 'tickling', right?” Hinata whispered back.

Kuzuryu didn't appear to be bothered by the announcement. He looked over at them with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering why they were so surprised by it. Hinata didn't understand how he could look so calm. Didn't he realize how potentially bad that could be? Had he never been tickled before? For some reason, Hinata couldn't remember how ticklish he was, but he felt a deep, inherent fear at the idea of someone else putting their hands on him without his permission. Laughing uncontrollably... Becoming completely helpless... Those were the sorts of things that ran through his mind when he heard the word 'tickling'.

On the other hand, it was an opportunity.

He looked over to Komaeda where he was standing by himself. He had his eyes closed, his mouth shut in a tight line. It looked like he was just waiting for Monokuma to tell them what they were supposed to do. The look on his face was already uncomfortable.

Hinata wanted to tickle him.

He didn't know why, but that thought suddenly overwhelmed him. It made his palms sweat. On his own, the thought might have never crossed his mind, but he suddenly found himself staring at Komaeda in a new way.

“H-Hey, Komaeda,” he said, unable to stop himself. “You wouldn't happen to be ticklish, would you?”

The way Komaeda's shoulders suddenly stiffened was the only answer he needed. Kuzuryu and Soda both lost their surprised expressions and stared at Komaeda, chuckling to themselves.

“Oh? What's this?” Monokuma said, holding a paw curiously to his chin. “Do we have some sadists on our hands? My, that makes things interesting. How excellent! It's so nice to see you enjoying yourselves... I hope Komaeda enjoys himself, too!”

“ _What?!_ ” Komaeda yelped, his voice coming out sounding high-pitched and squeaky in surprise.

Monokuma spun around in his chair, then made a triumphant pose. “That's right! You're our special contestant for this round! If one of you kind souls would unveil the table to your left, you'll find all of the tools you'll need to get this party rollin'! Upupu~ I can't wait to see how you handle this one.”

Feeling perhaps a little more excited than he had reason to, Hinata took it upon himself to be the one to unveil the table. In previous rounds, other items had been prepared for them. That time, when he pulled back the cloth covering the table, he discovered an assortment of objects for tickling. Not only that, there was something unique about the table itself, as well. Each corner of the table was fitted with leather straps meant to restrain the chosen contestant.

Slowly, Hinata looked over his shoulder and caught Komaeda's nervous gaze. He had his arms wrapped around his middle, and he was shuffling away from them as if he thought he could escape.

“Hey,” Monokuma said, his eyes on Komaeda, “where do you think you're going? Get back here. You haven't even spun the wheel yet.”

“The wheel?” Komaeda looked around in a daze before remembering what Monokuma was talking about.

There was a large roulette wheel that they spun each round to determine the challenges' intensity or the amount of time they needed to spend enduring each challenge. The wheel ranged from green to bright red. Green was presumably the safest.

There was a skull printed on the reddest part of the wheel. Thankfully, nobody had the fortune of finding out what that skull meant yet.

Komaeda approached the wheel with his back held straight, but it was obvious that he was just putting up a tough act, trying to look confident. He grabbed one of the pegs on the wheel and gave it a firm spin. It was a little strange for him, considering. If he supposedly had such good luck, then he shouldn't have been worried at all. Hinata expected his spin to give him the minimum punishment time.

But... Komaeda's luck decided to work in strange ways.

The wheel slowed, going past the minimum punishment marker straight into the maximum one labeled with the mysterious skull symbol.

“Whoo, bingo!” Monokuma cheered. “Congratulations, buddy. That's thirty minutes of pure, tenacious tickle torture! Are you excited? You should be. I bet there are some people who would be _dyyying_ to be in your position!”

Although Komaeda kept his lips tightly sealed, refusing to reply to Monokuma's remarks, Hinata could tell how bothered he was. His cheeks were a little red, the back of his neck glistening with a nervous sweat. The way he kept his arms defensively wrapped around himself put a wickedly tempting thought in Hinata's mind.

Komaeda was ticklish. He had to be. Even though Komaeda refused to say it, his body language made it obvious.

“So... What are the rest of us supposed to do?” Kuzuryu asked Monokuma. “You intend for us to _tickle_ him?”

“Absolutely!” Monokuma sang. He seemed so excited.

Hinata was reluctant to acknowledge the feeling of excitement that he also felt when he thought about getting his hands on Komaeda. He'd never given it much thought. The thought of someone touching him was kind of troubling, but the thought of tickling someone else was... Something else entirely. It made his mouth feel dry, made his heart pound with a unique feeling.

“Whatever,” Hinata said, pretending to be less interested than he felt. “Let's just get this over with. Help me tie Komaeda to the table.”

Komaeda took a small, hesitant step away. “Uh... Th-Thirty minutes is a long time, you know? I'm not throwing in the towel, but... Don't you think this is going a little overboard? Any normal person would probably lose their mind if you tickled them for that long. I-I can't even imagine...”

Soda suddenly seemed more interested in the idea of Monokuma's game. “Lose their mind, huh? Are you really _that_ ticklish?”

Sputtering, at a loss for words, Komaeda just looked aside and didn't answer. It was too late. He'd already revealed how easy it would be for them to win that round.

Monokuma cleared his throat and spoke very seriously. “Well. It's a good thing you aren't going to quit the game. That would be very bad. If you hadn't noticed, you were lucky enough to land on the sudden death marker. That cute little skull on the wheel means that you're going to face an even worse punishment if you aren't able to last through this round. If you tap out, you'll be facing an execution.” He grinned broadly when he saw the look on Komaeda's face. “Upupu! Give it the best you've got!”

Was he really going to die if he couldn't handle it? There was no way Monokuma could kill him over something so trivial...

Oh, who was he kidding? He couldn't assume to know what Monokuma was thinking. Hearing him say that just made Hinata feel like he should go easier on him, but the other guys looked like they were ready to do their worst. Surely, if they could torture him badly enough, then Komaeda would tell them to stop, and then he would be executed, removing him as interference entirely. Did they want that?

Hinata wasn't going to think about it. Whatever happened, it wasn't going to be his fault. He was going to make sure that Komaeda would endure it for that whole thirty minutes.

Kuzuryu and Soda cornered him, but Komaeda didn't put up a fuss. When they grabbed him by the arms, Hinata noticed the way that even that much physical contact made him shudder. His body had to be pretty sensitive. It was probably because he was always alone, by himself. Hinata felt like he was used to a bit of playful touching and roughhousing. In comparison, even the slightest touch seemed to make Komaeda squirm.

Even when he was hoisted onto the table, Komaeda still tried to put his arms around himself to protect his middle. To make him finally give it up, Kuzuryu gave him a swift poke to the stomach. Instantly, a loud laugh uncontrollably burst from Komaeda's mouth. When he was thrown off guard, the other two grabbed his arms, giving Hinata the chance to remove his shirt. After that, they pinned his hands above his head to the corners of the table, and Hinata secured his wrists using the built-in straps. At that point, he knew that Komaeda wasn't going to even try to get away, but Hinata still needed to also secure his ankles just to make sure that he wouldn't wriggle off the table during their torture. With thirty minutes to go, he had the feeling it would get intense.

“Alright,” Kuzuryu said, looking down at him, stroking his chin in thought. “What should we do first? We have all these tools here. I think we have time to use all of them.”

“What do you think, Komaeda?” Soda asked. Picking up a few of the tools, he waved them around in front of his face. “Which of these do you like most? If you cooperate, we can make it easy for you.”

Komaeda's eyes went from the toothbrush in Soda's left hand to the comb in his right. He swallowed visibly, looking like he was making the most difficult decision of his life. For someone who was ticklish, both of those options probably sounded like poison.

“You may now begin!” Monokuma said. “Since Soda looks so eager, let's have him go first. Choose your tools carefully. Remember, if you want to win that immunity, then you better knock Komaeda out in this round!”

Soda groaned. “Seriously? You're going to make me touch this creep? I just wanted to mess with him. Ugh... Fine. Let's see...” He began seriously looking over his options, trying to choose the tool that would torment Komaeda the most.

Hinata couldn't help but feel jealous, especially when Soda was acting like it was going to kill him to touch Komaeda. Hinata wasn't sure how he felt about touching him, either, but he knew that he wanted to tickle him and see his reactions.

Soda set down the tools he was currently holding and picked up a long, white feather. Komaeda's eyes followed it warily. “How's this?” Soda asked, giving it a playful wiggle. He approached Komaeda with it, teasing him by waving it over his exposed torso without actually touching him, chuckling to himself when Komaeda tried in vain to get away.

As soon as he touched him with it, Komaeda bit back a sound, his face coloring with embarrassment. It was just the lightest of touches, but it already got a response from him because he was anticipating more. Soda used the feather here and there, trying to find a place where its light touch would have a real effect on him. For the most part, Komaeda seemed like he was able to endure it, and that just frustrated Soda. No one disliked him more, so he was determined to find his weak spot.

Teasing his sides with the thin tip of the feather made him squirm a little, but Komaeda's quivering became more intense as Soda neared his inner arm.

It looked like Soda was the one nearing his own breaking point, getting really annoyed that he wasn't able to make Komaeda react like he hoped. Even Monokuma was being quiet. A bored Monokuma was a bad Monokuma...

“Come on,” Soda groaned. “Give it up, already! Where's your weak spot? You're really ticklish, aren't you? Tell us where it's at, otherwise none of us are going to get that immunity!”

Kuzuryu shook his head and clicked his tongue at him. “You're just doing it wrong, you idiot. A feather's not enough. You're being too gentle with him. You need to use your hands like a man if you wanna find where he's weak. Show him that he shouldn't underestimate us.”

Taking a look at Komaeda's exposed torso, Soda grimaced. “Man, I don't wanna touch him... T-Touching a guy's body is just... w-weird, y'know?” He turned toward Hinata, expecting him to agree. “Hinata knows what I mean! Don't you, Hinata?”

Hinata coughed.

“Try his feet,” Hinata suggested. Feet were typically a very ticklish spot, and that was the only place Soda hadn't checked yet.

“N-No way. _You_ do it. There ain't no way I'm touching this guy's dirty feet! Going anywhere near his pudgy body's bad enough.” He gave him a spiteful look that dragged on for a moment before spontaneously giving Komaeda's chubby waist a sudden poke with the tip of his finger.

“Ah!” Komaeda cried. He turned his head to the side, but it was too late. They'd already heard him.

That little outburst made Soda grin. He may have been reluctant to touch him, but he seemed to like the idea of getting him to laugh more.

Well, Hinata was willing to step in if Soda was still feeling hesitant about it. He also had his reservations, but he was willing to push past it for the sake of securing that immunity in the next trial.

“Let me,” he said, stepping over to the end of the table. Komaeda's leg twitched as Hinata grasped the bottom of one of his shoes. They didn't have laces, so he only had to give them a little tug to pull them off. Soda called his feet smelly, but they weren't as unappealing as he made them out to be. They were just feet, Hinata told himself. Feet like anyone else's. Except... They were Komaeda's feet. He didn't know why, but that sort of changed things and made his heart pick up its pace.

As he removed the other shoe, Komaeda's legs began quivering a little harder at the brief contact. Without a doubt, that had to be his special spot. The hot spot.

He didn't feel like touching him with his hands, either – not yet, at least. He wasn't ready. After trying out a tool or two, he decided that he would work up the courage to take it farther.

With slightly trembling fingers, Hinata picked up the toothbrush Soda had abandoned, just blindly selecting whatever his hand landed on first. Holding it up, he watched Komaeda's face and smirked when he saw him looking down at him with wide eyes.

“How's this?” Hinata asked, lightly rubbing the smooth back of the end of the brush along the center of Komaeda's foot. The response was immediately.

“N-No...!” Komaeda gasped, futilely trying to pry his leg out of the restraints. “N-Not there...!”

Kuzuryu laughed under his breath. “Nice one, Hinata. Looks like we've got him now. Give it everything you've got.”

As Hinata began to lightly trace the bristles along that extremely sensitive part of Komaeda's foot, he looked over to Soda and gave him a confident nod of his head. “Soda, you should try touching him again. Don't worry about it. It's for the immunity, remember? He isn't going to be able to keep it together now that I've got his feet.”

“Oh... Y-Yeah, you're right. It's for the immunity!” Soda said, rubbing the back of a hand over his forehead. Even if he hated it, the unique situation was probably pretty exciting for him, too. It was nice to see him finally giving in.

Hinata looked toward Kuzuryu. “You, too. Give it a try. You can't just leave it to us.”

“That's true... If I let you guys do all the work, Monokuma would probably say I lost this round, too. This guy's gonna be the only one who loses this one. The three of us are going to have our own duel to determine who's safe in the next trial. We won't let him make it.”

“Hey, this doesn't seem very fair,” Komaeda whined. However, slowly, a strange smile came over his face. “But... It does make me happy to see you working together. I remember seeing how nervous the three of you were before. I'm glad that something like this could bring you together. So, I don't mind it if you use me as your stepping stone to reach hope.”

The three of them stared at him with an unspoken irritation.

Without any warning, Soda dove in on the offensive, using his bare fingers to tickle Komaeda's sides. A series of wild giggles erupted from Komaeda's mouth as soon as Soda's fingertips touched him. He tried shifting from side to side, thrashing his arms as if that would be enough to tug his hands out of the restraints. They were wrapped around his wrists pretty firmly, though. Unless his luck decided to intervene, no amount of struggling was going to be enough for him to pull him free.

“Is this what you call 'hope'?” Kuzuryu teased, tickling Komaeda's other side with his fingers. He decided to be a little more daring than Soda. He danced his fingers up his side and thrust his fingers into Komaeda's armpit. At that point, Komaeda was barely even able to respond, laughing so much that he couldn't even completely form words. Kuzuryu repeated the motion over and over, continuously prodding two of his fingers into his ticklish armpit.

“N-No...! Ah-... Aha... Ha...! P-Please...! Not th- Not there...!” Komaeda cried, twisting from side to side in a desperate attempt to get away from Kuzuryu and Soda's tormenting touches. Tears of exertion started to appear at the corners of his eyes as he tried to hold back his laughter. “E-Embarra-...! Nngh!”

On the screen, Monokuma finally seemed to look interested in what was going on. “Hm? What was that? Embarrassing? Upupu... Mission accomplished. Keep it up, boys! You've got plenty of time.”

Plenty of time... And Hinata intended to exploit their remaining time.

“Hey, Komaeda,” he said. He knew he couldn't expect his attention while Komaeda was shivering and laughing, losing his mind to the others' torment, but he kept talking anyway, figuring that his words would eventually get through to him. “How do you feel, knowing that people are watching you?”

Despite being wracked with giggles, Komaeda went very still with the realization that he was still being watched. For a while there, he may have even forgotten about the cameras. Once he remembered that they were there, his face turned a bright red and his laughter increased.

“P-... People are-...! Ah- AhahaHA! People are wa-ah haha... HAH-... Watching!”

With all of that laughter, one could have even assumed that he was really enjoying himself. It was getting hard to tell. All of his prior fear seemed to have evaporated, replaced by unstoppable giggles, but it showed in the few tears that helplessly ran down the sides of his face.

Hinata confidently ran the bristled end of the toothbrush around the center of Komaeda's tender foot and grinned as he heard Komaeda cry out between his laughs.

“That's right,” Hinata continued. “People all over the world are watching you right now. Millions of eyes are on you right now, watching as you get tickled senseless. I bet they're all thinking they could hold it together better than you. Are you just going to give in?”

“Man, don't encourage him,” Soda said, pausing to stare at Hinata. “We want him to lose.”

“Yeah, but... If he forfeits, then...”

Komaeda cried out again, testing his bonds. “Nno! I'm... I'm not- Ahaha... I'm not g-g-going to...” He held his breath for a moment, trying to get a hold of himself and rein in his giggling so he could speak in a dignified way. It was impossible, though. “Aha! I'm! Haha... Not... Hmm ha ha... G-Going to give...! Ha... Aha... Ha ha... HA HAH...! Give UP!”

That was good. Hinata was glad to hear that.

He switched to Komaeda's other foot, teasing around the tips of his toes all the way down to his sole. It felt unfair to leave his other foot all alone, though, so he finally gave in and touched his sock-covered toes with his fingers. He rubbed them lightly between his fingers, feeling each of his little toes through the soft fabric. He thought he was doing it pretty carefully, so he was surprised that Komaeda responded to it so strongly. Even a little bit was too much for him to handle. His legs kept moving around on their own, trying to buck his feet out of Hinata's hands.

“You have pretty sensitive feet, don't you?” he said. It was just an observation, yet he found it kind of exciting to say it out loud and tease him with it. He reveled in the humiliated look on Komaeda's face. “What would you do if I took your socks off?”

“Not tha- Ha! Not that!” he laughed, horror in his eyes. “Hin- Hinata-kun! You can't! Ha ha... Hee... People will... See- hee hee!”

While Kuzuryu teased his one arm, Soda teased the other, lightly prodding him in an erratic way that Komaeda couldn't come to expect. “Heh. You seem kind of like a perv to me. I bet you'd secretly love it if people watched you. How do you feel about everyone in the world seeing your belly jiggling?” He moved from Komaeda's arms, tickling his fingers across his chest, then gave his defenseless tummy a barrage of tickles.

Komaeda howled, his back arching on the table.

Not allowing him a single second of respite, Kuzuryu seized the feather and waggled it over Komaeda's nose. Not only could Komaeda not stop laughing, he could barely even breathe once he was assaulted with the need to sneeze.

“Ahh...! Hah... Haaa... HaCHOOOO!”

His eyes watered and a little bit of snot ran down from his nose, but he immediately kept on laughing, his breath hiccuping as he tried to take in air.

Hinata spared at glance at Monokuma and was proud to see that he was still watching them intently. In fact, he looked very invested as he sat there with his legs crossed, munching on some popcorn.

They had less time remaining than Hinata had realized. The time was flying by. He was having fun, too.

His pulse pounded audibly in his ears as he curled his fingers in the edge of Komaeda's socks. Once his pale feet were exposed, he was almost overwhelmed with the need to tease them. He never expected to feel such a strong desire for something like that. He was apprehensive to touch his bare feet with his fingers, but...

“ _Heeeee!_ ” Komaeda squealed, unable to contain himself as Hinata flicked the tips of his fingers around his soles.

“How's that?” Hinata asked, grinning proudly.

“Hee hee, Hinata-kun! N-... S-St-...!”

Soda stopped what he was doing and leaned close. “Hm? What was that? Were you gonna say 'stop'?”

Kuzuryu played a little with Komaeda's tummy pudge, poking and prodding with each of his fingers. “We'll stop as soon as you tell us, you know. If we keep tickling you like this, who knows what will happen? You're looking paler than usual. Are you having trouble breathing with all that laughing?”

Komaeda sucked in a breath, but he couldn't savor it in his lungs, unable to cease his laughing. His whole body quivered and quaked, rocking the table. It looked like he wasn't going to be able to hold on for much longer. As long as he could hold on without forfeiting, then he would be able to escape the round without facing Monokuma's sudden execution rule.

With the final remaining minutes, Hinata took the toothed comb and used it to torment Komaeda's soles. His toes curled and his ankles twitched when he felt the prickling sensation shooting up his body from the base of his foot.

“Hee hee Hinata!” His eyes rolled back, clenching his hands into fists as he tried to hold back his laughter. It didn't work. More sweet, breathy giggles spilled from his mouth. “Ha! Haha ha ha haaaaaH! Aha... Aha ah aha ha haa... AH HAH HAH!”

He looked like he'd finally snapped, his laughs sounding hysterical and delirious. By that point, he was totally incapable of even speaking a complete sentence. His thoughts were a mess with his body focused solely on their relentless, thorough tickling.

“Hey, Hinata, lemme try!” Soda said, finally sounding eager. He pushed him out of the way and started playing with Komaeda's toes.

Kuzuryu joined him, capturing Komaeda's other foot. Holding it in one hand, he used his other hand to brush and flick the bottom of his foot with the backs of his fingers. “Heh. This ain't so bad, huh? He outta be grateful that I'm willing to touch him. Can't say I love touchin' this guy's feet, but it's pretty great to watch him lose it.”

“Y-Yeah,” Hinata said, feeling sort of relieved that they agreed. He took up the spot that they'd left. He stood over Komaeda, looking down at his red, embarrassed face. Although there was a huge grin on his face from all of his laughing, Hinata could tell how much he hated it. His body couldn't lie. It wanted to get away from them more than anything.

Even so, he didn't tell them to stop, even as Hinata began his personal assault on his tummy.

Hinata gave a laugh of his own. “Just a few minutes left, Komaeda. Do you think you can keep it up?”

Komaeda's eyes went to the cameras once more. Knowing that he was being seen by millions of people when he was at his most vulnerable must have been too much for him to take.

“I... I can't...! Ha... Ha ha...! Ha ha ha heeeeee...!” he laughed, body thrashing.

And, just like that, he suddenly stopped moving. His body gave up the fight and his limbs went limp.

The three of them stopped and looked at each other.

Just then, Monokuma's timer beeped.

“Beep beep!” he sung, gleefully imitating the timer. “Time's up! Looks like you guys are the winners of this round. Poor Komaeda wasn't able to last. His consciousness walked out at the last second, meaning he's the loser.”

Hinata stepped toward the monitor. “Hey, wait a second. He's... He's not going to be punished for that, is he? He didn't forfeit, so he doesn't deserve the penalty!”

With his arms crossed over his chest, Kuzuryu narrowed his eyes at him, giving him a judging look. “Komaeda doesn't even care if we die. Who cares about him?”

Hinata was reluctant to admit that he kind of cared. That whole round was pretty unfair to him. Even if it was Komaeda, he felt bad. There was nothing he could do in that round except tough it out.

As Komaeda came to his senses, he looked toward them, then sprang back to life. “I won, didn't I? I didn't give up. So...”

“You passed out, loser,” Kuzuryu said. “That means you lost to us.”

Komaeda became paler.

To lighten the mood, Monokuma clapped his paws together. “Eh, whatever. Don't worry about it! You only would've faced the execution punishment if you forfeited, and I was just kidding anyway. The killing game must proceed as planned. I can't go killing you off all willy-nilly.”

Going over to Komaeda, Hinata unbuckled the straps to free him. Afterwards, Komaeda sat up, shaking slightly, still recovering from receiving so many tickles. “Ah... Aha. You were just kidding? I see. Just my luck.”

Kuzuryu looked deep in thought. “If that was just a prank, then... What about that immunity? I bet that's just a prank, too. You just dragged us out here in the middle of night for nothing, didn't you?”

“It wasn't for nothing,” Monokuma happily assured. “It was for my entertainment.”

“So it was a lie,” Hinata concluded, feeling hopelessly crestfallen. “What about the cameras? The people watching all over the world? Was that a lie, too?”

Monokuma gave a concerning shrug. “Who can say for sure? I bet _someone_ is watching.”

What was _that_ supposed to mean...?

“Well, anyway, that was fun!” Monokuma tossed his empty popcorn bucket at the screen. “Thanks, guys! See ya later! Try to get some sleep, 'kay?”

After that, Kuzuryu and Soda ditched the scene before Komaeda even had a chance to look at them. Things were definitely going to be awkward for Komaeda after having experienced something like that. Try as he might, Hinata couldn't consider it a bad experience. It was just unusual. None of that was something he would have ever envisioned himself doing, and yet... As he looked back at Komaeda...

He was already wondering when he could do it again.


End file.
